Foster’s Tampa Bay Future Appears Grim
December 26th, 2014
Spectator Mason Foster watched the final Bucs practice of 2014 today.
The following isn’t really news, more of an update. On such a beautiful day today (this is why we live in Florida while 90 percent of the rest of the nation fights frostbite), Joe soaked up the rays and watched the media window of the final Bucs practice of the season.
Joe saw a sad but not unexpected sight. Mason Foster was in sweat pants sitting on a bench watching his teammates practice. Foster, a free agent after the season, has not played to the level that Bucs officials had hoped for or wanted.
The vibe is that the Bucs very well may move on from Foster and look to upgrade the middle linebacker position. Foster, who re-injured his Achilles last week against the Packers, probably won’t play Sunday. Rarely with Lovie Smith has a player sat out a Friday practice and suited up on gameday.
Earlier this week, Joe asked defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier if Foster could play outside linebacker. Frazier said, in the defense the Bucs want to run, Foster is best-suited for middle linebacker and sort of dismissed any notion that Foster could play outside linebacker.
With Foster watching practice this afternoon, it very well may signal he has payed his last snap as a Bucs linebacker.
December 26th, 2014 at 1:19 pm
Give him back-up money and keep him as depth! Even if we do get someone else to play the mike, it helps to have a quality back-up at every position.
December 26th, 2014 at 1:23 pm
^^^what makes you think that he will re-sign with this miserable football team as a backup?
December 26th, 2014 at 1:30 pm
I hope they keep him good depth player
December 26th, 2014 at 1:33 pm
Dallas
I feel the same about clayborn banks and glennon although the other two have a few more years to play out their contract but yea why would these guys care to stay. Schiano men < Lovie men in Lovies eyes.
So they cut foster to replace him with lesser talent like fletcher. That's our MO.
December 26th, 2014 at 1:39 pm
@DallasBuc, because we are on the verge..lol
December 26th, 2014 at 1:49 pm
Dallasbuc you are correct. Mason will not resign with this team especially for less money. Heck he’ll sign with another team if we offer the same money.
December 26th, 2014 at 1:57 pm
Yall are seeing it wrong. You resign foster at the start or before free agency for a good deal. He’s the incumbent starter. You draft a player with the potential to beat foster and create a fair competition. Foster wins then both parties are winners. Foster loses the competition and he can only look to himself. We improved the position and have a solid backup.. win win.
December 26th, 2014 at 2:15 pm
Miracle
Name one example where that has happened here?
December 26th, 2014 at 2:15 pm
Here’t the thing: If the Bucs keep Foster, it won’t be as a starter. So Foster would have to agree to take both a massive salary hit and agree to ride the pine.
It’s possible he could start on another NFL team and make starter’s cash.
December 26th, 2014 at 2:24 pm
I could see foster on a team like Miami, they would prob evaluate him slb too go figure.
December 26th, 2014 at 2:33 pm
This is why we continue to suck. He’s excellent depth. Fletcher absolutely sucks. And we already know what we have in foster so why not just keep him until people prove they are better than him and push him off the depth chart?
December 26th, 2014 at 2:59 pm
Indy
Bc we need to make room for players like Louis murphy.
December 26th, 2014 at 3:30 pm
Anyone watching the bowl games today? This guy Mike Dudek is one wr to watch out for, he’s a freshman, but worth watching his progress.
Tonights USC vs Nebraska is the one I cant wait to see. The first and second DE’s off the draft board next year, Leonard Williams and Randy Gregory will be in the spotlight.
December 26th, 2014 at 4:06 pm
Foster struggled to play at an average NFL level… For a third round pick he did OK… I wouldn’t consider him Dominik’s worst draft pick… He will be quality depth somewhere else next year and I wish him good luck…
December 26th, 2014 at 5:29 pm
Thanks for putting things in perspective MAC. When he first arrived here he was touted as a true MLB, but later on we were told he played in a 3-4 scheme.
He was supposed to be better than Rudd but his coverage skills then and now were lacking.
Foster is barely an average MLB and everyone in the league knows it. He’ll, right now even Lansanah is better and it isn’t even his position.
December 26th, 2014 at 6:35 pm
He won’t sign for depth money. He will go to another team and do well. Just like every other player this team has dismissed from needing they’re services. We suck….We are the Bucs….Just like it never snows here things will never be consistently good on this team. Maybe we will have a good season now and then, but it will be a fluke. The Glaziers are Tards……they can’t get it right. I want owners that are at every game, down on the field, in the locker room, in the meetings, at the practices. Owners who let the players know they care about the team.
December 26th, 2014 at 7:20 pm
@ kevin
Who have we released that has done so well besides D. Revis (who was grossly overpaid) and maybe T. Aquib (who was a constant head case)?
Blount? Maybe… If you consider being kicked off the Stealers “doing well”…
Mike Williams? Buffalo released him he did so well…
D. Penn or Davin Joseph? Less then average this year…
Mark Barron? One decent game then he disappeared…
Zuttah? OK, I will give you that one… We should have kept him…
But I will argue he was probably the only player released we should have kept… The rest… Good riddence to bad rubbish…
December 26th, 2014 at 7:57 pm
Love him as a team mate but if u can’t cover at mlb you make the whole defense fail.
December 26th, 2014 at 8:33 pm
I’ve always been a critic of Foster and his inabilities in coverage, but I think he is starter quality in the NFL in a scheme where deep pass drops and man to man coverage aren’t a big requirement in the defense. He’s a good run defender and might do well in a 3-4 as an ILB or Mike in a Mike Zimmer-type 2 gap 4-3 defense (Bengals, Vikings, Ravens).
December 26th, 2014 at 8:50 pm
MadMax Says:
Tonights USC vs Nebraska is the one I cant wait to see. The first and second DE’s off the draft board next year, Leonard Williams and Randy Gregory will be in the spotlight.
—–
Bro, don’t stay up too late waiting for this game to come on TV…it’s scheduled for tomorrow.
December 26th, 2014 at 11:42 pm
lol, yep, I missed the small writing in the schedule that said “saturday” thought it was tonight….anyways, yeah, that should be a good one.
December 27th, 2014 at 2:52 am
This is a miserable football team with lack of both talent and depth. I don’t understand where we get off thinking we can cast off players with more talent than their backup
December 27th, 2014 at 10:37 pm
Earlier this week, Joe asked defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier if Foster could play outside linebacker. Frazier said, in the defense the Bucs want to run, Foster is best-suited for middle linebacker and sort of dismissed any notion that Foster could play outside linebacker.
_______________________________________________________________
A good coaching staff will make adjustments in their system to fit the skillset of the players. Blount, for example was not really good catching passes out of the backfield. In NE, they don’t require that from him. They utilize him in a manner where he can use his strengths. Foster may be suited for another position other than MLB.
December 28th, 2014 at 4:43 am
I agree with Mike10, so far L&L have done nothing to convince me that they can evaluate talent as is demonstrated by their amazing feat of actually making the Bucs OL worse than it was under Schiano in 2014. BUCSFAN68 makes a great point of how other coaching staffs utilize a player’s strengths yet the Bucs simply try to force square pegs into round holes time and time again….
It looks like Foster is not a fit for Lovie and Leslies’ (should call them L&L deux) D though. Knowing the Bucs luck he will end up with someone like the Rams or one of the NFC South teams and probably make some big plays and possibly a game winning turnover against the Bucs when he returns to RJS to play against the Bucs…